Andre Arshavin apologising for rant at Russian fans

The Premier League Owl

It looks like someone’s agent has been on the phone.

A couple of days ago, a Russian media source leaked a video of Andrei Arshavin in the middle of a confrontation with a group of reporters and fans - and let’s just say, Andrei didn’t come out looking that good from it.

The gist of the discussion, was the Arsenal forward reasoning that the Russian people had been let down by their own expectations rather than the national team’s performance at Euro 2012.

Fast-forward 48-hours, and Arshavin has released the following statement:
“The result has disappointed us and, of course, all our fans. We understand that.

As team captain, on behalf of our players and myself, I would like to apologise for our performance and the result that we had.

It’s not right to shy away. That’s why I’m saying something. I’ll do it only once and will not talk about this any further.”

For those who don’t know how these things work, or believe that this is a genuine show of contrition from the player - it’s not.

Arshavin wants a move back to Russia, and his agent or publicist has told him that he needed to apologise to grease the wheels of that ambition. The Arsenal forward is famously outspoken - which is a euphemism for ‘he just says what he wants all the time’.

What’s the only thing that can control a player’s behaviour in modern football? The prospect of money or the threat of losing it.